Should I take Spanish, German, Italian, French, or Latin?
My summer semester in college starts today, so I have an opportunity to change classes right now if need be. I am taking Spanish right now, but I really don't want to. My ideal choice is German (which is a big part of my heritage), but I'm not sure if I'll ever use it. I don't think I'll use Spanish that much either. I'm not going into a field that would require it, but I know that it is a very dominant language in the US. Which of these languages would be the most beneficial to me? Also, which one would be the easier to learn? I like a challenge, but I'd also appreciate a mild workload. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Erik Van Thienen2014-05-07T08:56:23Z
Most useful : Spanish or French, both world languages.
Easiest : Spanish, Italian or French, all linguistically closely related to English.
Both German and Latin have a fully-inflected grammar, and thus are harder for a native English speaker. Only take German when you plan a career related to Central and/or Eastern Europe, and only take Latin when you want to specialize later in Romance languages.
I cannot and shall not disagree with anything EVT just wrote, still my own advice would be to go for your ideal choice, because I think that generally speaking we are better at what we choose to learn for personal reasons.
Having an affective link to a language seems like a very good thing to me, as it will help you not getting discouraged when faced with grammar difficulties or similar possible issues.
It might make it easier for that language to become a part of your inner self, which is the key to any learning process. IMHO :)
I started studying English with much gusto myself partly because my elder brother, whom I admired very much when I was a teenager, could speak it and had been to the USA.
I don't think our only motivations in life should boil down to the search for mere efficiency.